gluten-free brownies

Well I haven't done the ABC baking challenge this year for a couple of reasons: 1. I wasn't crazy about the recipes that were featured and 2. I kept forgetting to bake something in time for the posting. But that all changed when I saw this brownie recipe. 

I haven't really dabbled with gluten-free mostly because I'm grateful not to have to. Gluten-free recipes are becoming more popular because you probably know someone who is allergic to gluten, or you're just trying to be more health-conscious. Regardless, I was intrigued that this recipe was dairy and gluten free. No flour or butter?! This is craziness. Craziness that I needed to experience first-hand.

And you know what? I'd make these again. Now that's a huge compliment to these little babies. I'm pretty particular when it comes to homemade brownies and these were right up there. Not my absolute favorite recipe because, let's be honest, I'll always be partial to flour and butter but because the almond meal just can't be smooth like flour, so there's a slight nubby texture that takes a bit getting used to. The chocolate flavor is wonderfully intense and the chocolate chips add a lovely moist richness that brings these brownies to the fudge-y category. Which, as we all know, is not a bad category for a brownie to be in. 

I have a coworker who is allergic to gluten and is usually never able to have any of my baked goods because I practically trail flour as I walk by her. I was dying to give these to her so that I could get her opinion on how they fared with other gluten-free baked goods. She loved them and said they weren't dry and they reminded her of regular brownies, which excited her (and me) the most. Success!

Have you tried any recipes for gluten-free baked goods?

it's all almonds

I was intrigued with this month's ABC Baking Challenge because I was expecting this tart to be a typical fruit tart with a chilled custard/pastry cream for the filling. So when I read through the recipe and realized I was baking the filling, I was intrigued. 

If you don't like almonds, then this isn't the dessert for you because it is almondy! Thankfully I happen to love almonds and was so happy with the outcome. Texturally speaking, it has all my favorite elements: each bite contains a wonderfully crisp shortbread crust, the filling that is slightly chewy and crunchy from the almonds paired with a brittle topping... it's just heavenly! 

Since it was my first time making it, I didn't really tweak the recipe (which I often do if I'm comfortable with a recipe) but I did add some seedless raspberry jam to the cooked crust, before adding the filling. I've done this before with other fruit tarts that I've made in the past, and it adds a nice tanginess to the sweet almond flavor.